Ingredients
Plantain
- 3green plantains, hard and unripe
To fry
- oil, for shallow or deep frying
- salt
Optional soak
- 500 mlwarm water with 1 tsp salt
- or with 3 crushed cloves of garlic
To serve
- hogao, the Colombian tomato and onion sauce
- guacamole
- suero costeño or crumbled cheese
- or plain, alongside fried fish
Directions
- Use plantains that are entirely green and hard, with no yellow on them at all. A ripening plantain has converted its starch to sugar, and it will go soft and dark rather than crisp.
- Cut off both ends, then score the skin lengthways in two or three places without cutting into the flesh. Work the skin off in sections with your thumb or the back of a knife. Green plantain skin is thick and tight and it will not simply peel away, so it has to be levered off.
- Rub your hands with a little oil first, since the sap is sticky and stains. Now cut them into thick rounds, about three centimetres. Cut them thick rather than thin, since they get flattened later and thin slices turn into brittle chips.
- Heat the oil to a moderate temperature, around 160°C. Fry the pieces for three to four minutes until they are pale golden and soft all the way through. Keep this first fry at a moderate heat, since the point is to cook the inside rather than to colour the outside. Test one by pressing it: it should give easily and feel soft in the centre.
- Lift them out of the oil and drain them. Press each piece flat while it is still hot, to about a centimetre thick. Flatten them hot, since a cooled patacón is firm and will crack apart under pressure.
- Press firmly and evenly in one movement rather than squashing repeatedly. If they crack around the edges they were either underfried or already too cool. Shake off the excess thoroughly before they go back in the oil, since water and hot oil spit violently. Raise the oil to about 190°C, hotter than the first fry.
- Fry them again for two to three minutes until deep golden and genuinely crisp at the edges. Do not crowd the pan on either fry. Lift them out and drain them on a rack rather than on paper. Now salt them immediately while they are still hot and glistening.
- Salt sticks to hot fat and slides straight off a cooled patacón, so this has to be done at once. Serve them hot, since they lose their crispness within ten minutes. Serve them with hogao, the Colombian sauce of slowly cooked tomato and spring onion, which is the classic partner. The first frying can be done hours ahead and the discs left flattened, then finished in hot oil to order.
Technique
- The plantains must be completely green and hard.
- They are fried once to cook through, flattened, then fried again to crisp.
- Tostones in the Spanish Caribbean are the same thing.
Substitutions
- Green bananas at a pinch, though they are less starchy.
- Any neutral oil for frying.
Variations
- Patacón pisao, a large flat one used as a sandwich base.
- Topped with shredded beef and cheese.
- Made small, as canapé bases.
History
Twice-fried green plantain discs, an African-influenced Caribbean technique used across the isthmus.
Frequently asked questions
What is Patacones?
Patacones is a salad & side from Colombia: twice-fried green plantain discs with salt, cheese or hogao. Twice-fried green plantain discs, an African-influenced Caribbean technique used across the isthmus.
How long does Patacones take to make?
Patacones takes 15 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Patacones?
Yes, within limits. Green bananas at a pinch, though they are less starchy. Any neutral oil for frying.
What is the most important thing to get right in Patacones?
Use plantains that are entirely green and hard, with no yellow on them at all. A ripening plantain has converted its starch to sugar, and it will go soft and dark rather than crisp.
